Sales of 'Protect' smoke detector halted after flaw discovered

Accidental deactivation could occur

Nest illustrates how the Wave function works. (Courtesy of NBC News)

The maker of a smoke and carbon monoxide detector has halted sales of the product because of a flaw that could cause it to be unintentionally disabled.

The "Nest Wave" feature of the Protect device allowed users to silence the device's alarm by standing under it and waving, rather than having to fetch a stepladder in order to reach the ceiling-mounted device, according to NBC News.

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According to a letter from Nest's CEO, it might be possible that this could lead to accidental deactivation.

"During recent laboratory testing of the Nest Protect smoke alarm, we observed a unique combination of circumstances that caused us to question whether the Nest Wave (a feature that enables you to turn off your alarm with a wave of the hand) could be unintentionally activated," said Nest CEO Tony Fadell. "This could delay an alarm going off if there was a real fire."

Fadell stressed that no customers had reported this happening, however, and otherwise the device is perfectly effective, NBC News reports. But the company has decided to halt sales while it figures out what to do.

No recall has been issued. To learn more, click here.